Splice
by Dragua
Summary: Jade wakes up in a cold laboratory with no memory, no knowledge, and no hope. Only her 'newfound' friends John, Dave, and Rose can help her escape the hellish place she has come to.
1. Amnesia

"Nnnng," Jade shook her head. She couldn't remember anything after the green flash of light that had shook the room. She slowly pushed herself up, one hand on the cold metal ground. She raised her eyes, catching sight of a cage enclosing her. Glancing to the side, something else caught her eye, a flash of… red? Jade turned, her vibrant green eyes resting on another person, sleeping. Sprawled in another cage, his back rose and fell as he breathed. He looked peaceful, his expression softened by sleep. His wings and legs were splayed. Wait, wings?! Jade did a double take, sucking in her breath as she surveyed the sleeping person beside her.

Where his arms should be were two huge and luxurious wings, tapered red and black feathers spread. Crowning the end were talons similar to hands, save their raptorlike build. Tiny down feathers were visible between the primary and secondary flight feathers, a soft orange.

"H-Hello?" Jade held her breath as he stirred. "Sup," He yawned, stretching luxuriously. "You new?" His brilliant chartreuse eyes took her in as he flicked back his hair. "I'm Dave."

"I guess…" Jade glanced around the room. Cages lined the bare white walls, each containing a sleeping form. With a closer look, Jade realized many were like her new friend, animal combining flawlessly with human to create an entirely new being. In one cage she saw a boy with scaly skin and fangs like a snake, and in another she saw the cloven legs of a deer. She shivered. What was this place?

"Welp, you're here now." Dave said, ruffling his feathers. "So what kind of Splice are you?" He stared curiously, and Jade shrank under his intense gaze.

"A Splice?" She stared blankly, shocking green eyes clouded with confusion. "I-I'm sorry, I don't understand…" She trailed off.

"Nah, it's cool." Dave grinned. "'Splice' is what we call ourselves. It means you're DNA's been changed, got new genes from something else. Rose thought of it," He gestured to another crate. "The Doc and his assistants like to call us experimental beings and such, but we didn't like it."

Jade stared blankly. She was an experiment. No one would know she was there, that she existed. She had nothing. "So I'm some kind of animal hybrid?" She asked. Jade gave herself a once over, gasping as she came across her new features. Her legs had changed, her foot lengthened and clawed, fur coating her now digitigrade legs. Her tailbone had also grown; it now split into sixteen different vertebra forming a long, fluffy tail. Her ears had become pointed and moved to the top of her head, also furred and constantly flickering about, searching for noises.

Dave looked on as she checked her new features. "We all are," He explained. "None of us really remember where we came from, or who we were. We're all like this now, though. Some of us, like Rose, kinda remembered some of their skills from when they were all human. Rose can still read and write, which has been damn helpful. Some of the others have managed to save stuff too, but if ya can't practice it in a cage, you're gonna lose it."

Jade opened her mouth to reply, but before she could speak a claxon alarm sounded, jolting the other 'Splices' from their sleep. All around her the sleepy murmurs of waking animals kept her ears flicking as the lights came on and the laboratory buzzed to life.


	2. White as Snow

**A/N: So hi! I can't actually believe anyone was interested in my little fanfic, hehe. In response to my reviews, yes I will be regularly updating, most likely around once a week during the school year, possibly more often during vacation time, providing I'm not away on haitus. I would also like to mention that yes, at this time Dave's eyes ARE green, but perhaps events in the future will change this... we'll have to see. I also happen to like dystopias/ apocalypse, so fair warning that something may happen (I'm writing this as I go, maybe a chapter or two ahead). So yeah. And without further ado, here is chapter two!**

"Alright, everyone up," A harsh voice rose above the other noise as a labcoat donning man strode down the aisle, obviously a scientist. Behind him came two more, each pulling a stainless steel cart with some sort of food inside. The first scientist, who was wearing a strange white orb on his head, raised a clipboard.

"You two start with the food and water. Don't give any to numbers 632, 119, or 434. They have trials first, they will eat after." The leader hurried off, presumably to prepare for these 'trials' as the other two hurriedly scooped food into the cold metal bowls in each cage. Many of the mutants began eating immediately, often without use of hands or utensils- something Jade noted with disgust. Their reasons soon became clear when she was served however- the lack of silverware or napkins made it the simplest and cleanest way to eat. Jade grimaced at the sloppy gruel that was roughly shoved into her cage. There was no need for fresh water, as small sipper, similar to a hamster's- was piped with water daily.

Jade nibbled at her poor meal as she watched the various scientists doling out sustenance. Her ears perked when she heard another cart rumbling down the aisle and she watched with interest as the leader returned. He stopped several times, loading three cages onto the cart. The Splices inside- a tiny female sparrow- Splice with delicate features, an alligator with massive teeth, and what looked like a chameleon- were either thrashing about or curled in a tiny ball as though it was a death sentence. They were tugged out of the room on the cart, steel door thudding shut behind them.

As Jade watched, she began to see a pattern. Various 'Splices' would be removed from the room for the 'trials,' returning at the least scraped up and out of breath, and the worst unconscious.

"Dave," Jade glanced over at her red-cloaked neighbor. The gentle rise and fall rhythm of his chest was too fast for sleeping. "Dave," This time she spoke a bit louder, and he finally swiveled to fix her in his predatory gaze.

"Hmm?" Dave didn't look too perturbed by the interruption- his deadpan expression hardly budged as his amber-red eyes inspected Jade. Even in his laboratory-standard attire, a plain white shirt and thin, numbered collar, Dave was still decently intimidating.

"I-I was wondering where we were? I mean, someone has to know, right? It just seems like at least one person in this entire place must know, especially since the scientists talked around you and all and even if they didn't someone must have seen the outside right so I guess you must-" Jade began to babble, the adrenaline from her frightening situation finally catching up with her. "Also why did they do this why am I here and why can't I even remember what happened all I can see is this white light and then it all goes green and it hurts so much why would they even do this?"

Jade's eyes welled with tears, lower lip quivering. Dave waited for her to calm down before beginning.

"Well, one of us does know, and that would be Rose. I don't really know much about it other than the trials, same with my bro over here-" He motioned to the orange-feathered, spiky haired teen on the other side of his cage. "As far as we know it's pretty cold out there, so it's probably winter. Most of us can't really remember much, so I guess it's pretty normal, as much as it sucks."

Jade sighed, putting her head on her furry knees. "Thanks I guess." Dave nodded at her, turning away to leave her with her thoughts. Every once in a while a scientist would return to exchange the hybrids before returning to the mysterious trials. The repetition began to take on a rhythm, if slow, that gently lulled her to sleep.

"HYBRID 691, 221, and 573." Jade jolted awake to a scientist, albeit one with very little decorum, staring into her cage. Instinctively she pressed herself as far away from him as she could, ears flattened in panic. The cage shuddered a bit from her shaking as the scientist entered a passcode on the small pad of her crate.

"Come here little thing, I won't hurt you." Too frightened to respond, Jade was frozen as the scientist grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, dragging her from the safety of her cage and into a new, more cramped one. Peering around Jade saw her temporary new companions, the orange Splice Dave had mentioned, and a deer Hybrid, who looked decently panicked.

"Alright, you have them all?" Another worker strode towards their cart, pristine white boots thudding on the floor. After a brief exchange of words and mutants, the new lab assistant took hold of the cart, effectively bringing the cart-and the Splices- effectively closer to the danger of the unknown world outside the laboratory. Ears tight against her head, Jade could only watch in abject terror as the seemingly huge white doors loomed closer, filling her vision until they pushed past them with a tremor, shoving suddenly into the light filled abyss outside the lab.


	3. Trial and Error

Jade was shoved, shivering, into a small white room. Her tail firmly tucked beneath herself and ears flattened, she carefully peered around, nose twitching at the scalding chemical odors that permeated the place. Green eyes roved the white walls, seemingly seamless in the enclosed place. Her sensitive ears could pick up only the buzzing of electricity- the room must be soundproofed, she guessed. Gradually she stood, her clawed feet clicking on the hard plastic floor.

Jade's fingers trailed the wall, tracing the almost nonexistent door she had been forced through. She stood taller, spine popping, to reach the ceiling, hoping to find some gap or trace in the wall. They weren't going to leave her here long she knew, and that limited her time. Finding no seams or encouraging signs, Jade abandoned her search for and exit, and sank to the floor, waiting for something to happen.

A klaxon alarm split the air, it's high pitch reverberating in Jade's ears as a previously unseen door slid open. Cautiously peering out into what appeared to be a large maze, Jade took a slow step out into the new area… just as her paws began to burn.

"Ah, ah!" Jade's paws fumbled over each other as she scrambled to escape the heat emanating from the floor, sending her skittering out of the chamber. She blindly took a turn, stopping only when she slammed into a dead end. As she attempted to catch her breath the burning began again in her paws, forcing her to keep moving through the maze. Her ears flickered as she attempted to catch her bearings, nose and whiskers twitching as she caught a scent.

Someone has been in here before. Following her nose, Jade skidded to a stop as she found herself in a cold mesh enclosure. A screen slid between her and the maze as Jade attempted to slow her frantic breathing and calm down, even as the lab assistants prepared for the next test.

—

"Her stamina and pain tolerance are remarkable." Doc Scratch placed his strange globular headgear on the table to look up at his assistant. "After acclimating to the setting the subject was exceedingly agile and capable of reaching a top speed of over 20 miles per hour, something we may find useful, especially if she's the kind of success we're looking for. Genetic modification to further improve on her attributes may be in order." The assistant continued blandly with his report. "And furthermore she seemed to be able to pinpoint where she was more easily than most hybrids."

Scratch nodded, running a hand through his shock of white hair. "I see. Any further notations on other subjects? The boss won't be happy if I leave anything out. The lab technician hesitated.

"There was one thing…" He began. The doctor nodded, prompting him to continue. "Experiment 657 has showed a new skill. He blew a large bubble during testing today."

"He is a salamander hybrid, yes?" The tech nodded. "Hmmm, I will tell him then. You are dismissed." As the laboratory assistant scrambled out of the office, Scratch pushed the button on the intercom with a soft click.

"Send Him in."


End file.
